Hi-tech car crime fight to be extended

A multi-million pound hi-tech scheme to combat vehicle crime is to be extended across England and Wales, the government announced today.

Officers from 23 forces will use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) to trap vehicles that have been stolen or involved in crime or are on the roads untaxed or without insurance.

Special scanners on police patrol vehicles record number plates and, within seconds, tell officers whether action should be taken. The Home Office has invested more than £4.6m in the scheme.

During a six-month trial involving nine forces, ANPR enabled police to seize more than £100,000 worth of illegal drugs and recover 300 stolen vehicles valued at over £2m and £715,000 worth of stolen goods.

The technology also led to the arrest of more than 3,000 motorists for a range of crimes.

Speaking at a demonstration of ANPR near Coventry, Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth said: "This crime-fighting technology, coupled with officers' local knowledge and experience, means vehicles are stopped in a more focused, intelligence-led way, so that honest motorists are less likely to be pulled over by the police."

Money raised from fixed penalty notices issued to motorists caught by ANPR will help to part-finance the extension of the scheme, the minister said.

Mr Ainsworth said the Association of Chief Police Officers hoped that, by 2005, all 43 police forces in England and Wales would be using ANPR.

The technology can check to up to 3,000 number plates per hour, even when vehicles are travelling at 100mph. Plates are checked against several databases, including the police national computer, the DVLA and local intelligence computer systems.